Austin Dunne (31 July 1934 – 5 March 2007) was an Irish professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played in the

League of Ireland The League of Ireland is a national association football Sports league, league consisting of professional clubs in the Republic of Ireland and Derry, Derry City in Northern Ireland. It is governed by the Football Association of Ireland. It was ...

for

Limerick Limerick ( ; ) is a city in western Ireland, in County Limerick. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. W ...

, and in England for

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

club

Colchester United Colchester United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Colchester, Essex, England. The team competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1937, the club spent its ea ...

and Southern League club

Tonbridge Tonbridge ( ) (historic spelling ''Tunbridge'') is a market town in Kent, England, on the River Medway, north of Royal Tunbridge Wells, south west of Maidstone and south east of London. In the administrative borough of Tonbridge and Mall ...

. Apparently he later played for Deal Town but details are sketchy.

Career

Austin Dunne was born in

on 31 July 1934. He signed for

from Garryowen Celtic during the 1950–51 season, began his

career as a 16-year-old

centre forward In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than midfielders and defenders. As with any attacking player, the role of the forward relies heavily on be ...

, was described as "showing great promise and was proving a worthwhile addition to the side", and finished that season as the club's joint top scorer in league competition, albeit with only five goals. He represented Ireland in junior and youth international matches. Dunne moved to England, where he signed for

in October 1953. It was 18 months before he made his first-team debut, playing at

left half In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

in a 2–1 defeat away to Gillingham in the

Football League Third Division South The Third Division South of the Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division North with clubs elected to the League or relegated from Division Two allocated to ...

on 9 April 1955. It was his only senior appearance. He left on a free transfer at the end of the 1955–56 season for

of the Southern League, and over the next six years, scored 15 goals from 201 appearances in all competitions for the club. He also demonstrated his positional versatility: as well as the forward role that began his career and his "natural" position of

wing half In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

, he was often used at

centre half In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

. Dunne moved to Deal Town during the 1964 /65 season. Dunne was married to Anne ''née'' Englefield, whom he met while she was a student nurse at the hospital where his fractured wrist was being treated during the 1956–57 season. They had three children. Dunne died in

on 5 March 2007 at the age of 72.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dunne, Austin 1934 births 2007 deaths Association footballers from Limerick (city) Republic of Ireland men's association footballers Men's association football wing halves Men's association football utility players Limerick F.C. players Colchester United F.C. players Tonbridge Angels F.C. players League of Ireland players English Football League players Southern Football League players 20th-century Irish sportsmen